[This is part of a series called “What is an Apostle?” Check the other post here]

O = Oikos

Apostolic leaders are fascinated with oikos and empowering people to reach the many different ones in our world.

What is an oikos?

Oikos is the Greek term for “Family and Household” but it actually means much more than that. It refers to your family, co-workers, relationships and web of people that you regularly come into contact with.

It is a relational web of interconnected people.

Biblically we see oikos all over the place and this was the primary way for the gospel to spread in the New Testament. Two of my favorite times it is used are in these two passages

Luke 8

Jesus heals a demon-possessed man and the man is eternally grateful and wants to continue on with Jesus. But Jesus wants him to go reach his oikos.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.’

Acts 10

Cornelius gets a vision from God and sends for Peter to come and explain to him. Peter also gets a vision and then receives the invitation from Cornelius to come. We read in the text that upon Peter’s arrival,

‘Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.’

The oikos was the primary way the gospel spread in the New Testament and it will be the way it continues to spread going forward.

The Great Concern

Programs over Incarnation

I am greatly concerned with the state of the church, especially in the west, and how it is so preoccupied and addicted to programs.

Large gatherings, and fancy programs are not the primary way that we have seen the gospel spread and it is not going to be the way any time soon. Jesus sent us on mission to reach oikos. He gave vision for it and deployed us to go and embed ourselves in these “Households”.

In Luke 10 Jesus sends out the 72 (36 mission teams) to go and preach the kingdom to these “Households”.

36 mission teams!

And Jesus wasn’t even remotely satisfied. He actually just got done sharing how there is so much work to do. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

The way I hear Jesus is like this,

“36 teams is too few. We need more. Pray! Go! I will see you there.”

He is not asking for more programs, and large scale gatherings that cost big bucks.

We need more devoted followers of Christ that are willing to actually reach family units, spheres of influence and be Jesus to intertwined relational networks around them.

How about just starting with the one that you are in?

And this is the call of the apostolic leader; to foster environments that deploy people to reach the oikos of the world. To give vision, train and push people towards being on mission with Jesus where they already are or are being called to go.

Churches that live in the apostolic heartbeat of reaching oikos are more concerned with how many mission teams they have going out than with how many butts are in the seats on Sunday.

It is truly the only way we are going to reach every people group in this world.

Don’t get me wrong, programs and events can be good. I would just argue to make that the support function or secondary work that assists in how people are reaching their “households”. Put the emphasis on reaching a group you are called to and then dream up how to support those efforts with events if need be.

But too many pastors and churches make the emphasis to gather large groups of people every Sunday and they miss the most important function:

Empowering individuals and communities to go out, incarnate, and share the gospel in already existing oikos.

Fraternities as Oikos

One of the most captivating things about my call from God in this season, and a primary reason that I really sensed God leading my family to LA to start Greek InterVarsity, is this oikos concept.

I have the privilege with God to give oikos vision to fraternity and sorority students all over LA, Orange and Riverside counties.

My mission is simple but not easy.

We want to see a “witnessing community” in every fraternity and sorority in Southern California.

Every fraternity house. Every oikos.

So my prayer and my burden that I carry every day is to find and make these disciples that will choose to follow Jesus into their oikos, the Greek Chapter, and love their brothers and sisters into the kingdom.

What has me really excited today is that in the next few weeks I am gathering Greek students across greater Los Angeles together for the first time to talk about this oikos concept. I have Luke 10 disciples from UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount, Occidental College, and Long Beach State signed up to come. Just think about the potential kingdom impact represented here? Pray for us that they receive the calling and power from God to go and plant the gospel and pastor the people in their oikos.

At schools like UCLA and USC, they live with 50 friends in a giant house and inter-relate with hundreds more.

I am not going to reach their friends and either is their pastor. They have to do it.

[listen to USC students tell you about their call to reach their fellow Greeks & how they’re preparing.]

[tentblogger-youtube OnCN3ItKxlU]

We have to give these students vision to reach their network, not just vision to come to church and bring a friend.

This is the same for neighborhoods, families, businesses and sports teams.

We have to plant the gospel there, through incarnated people, and expect new churches to pop up in those communities. Churches that may be only 10-20 people and a lot like the ones we read about in the NT and Paul’s writings.

If pastors and church leaders had a greater emphasis on reaching the different oikos represented just in their church, it would cause them to preach differently, train differently and count differently.

You can count on me to be praying for that!

So what is the oikos “household” that you are called to reach? Is your church empowering you to do so?

[This is part of a series called “What is an Apostle?” Check the other post here]